Lorenzo Insigne gave Liverpool's defenders a torrid afternoon as Napoli beat the European champions 3-0 in a friendly at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp fielded a strong side but Napoli's homegrown forward took centre stage, tormenting Joel Matip and Trent Alexander-Arnold with his pace and close control as he scored the opening goal and played in Arkadiusz Milik for the second.

Insigne was involved again when substitute Amin Younes made it 3-0 seven minutes into the second half and, although Liverpool improved with the introduction of Rhian Brewster and Harry Wilson in the last half-hour, they rarely threatened Alex Meret's goal.

Teenage midfielder Harvey Elliott made his debut as a late substitute after joining the club from Fulham and showed some neat touches but Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti will have left Edinburgh happier than Klopp after his side impressed throughout.

Simon Mignolet was forced into a good diving save to turn Insigne's daisy-cutter free-kick around the post early on and the Italian forward went one better after 17 minutes, dribbling 20 yards with the ball at his feet as Matip backed off before sending a thunderous dipping shot into the bottom corner of the net.

Little more than 10 minutes later Insigne caused more havoc, breaking down the Napoli left and centring a low cross that Milik lifted deftly over the diving Mignolet as he slid into to meet it.

Liverpool's failure to deal with Insigne continued in the second half, when he turned Alexander-Arnold before unleashing a shot that Mignolet parried into the path of Napoli substitute Younes, who duly rolled the ball into an unguarded net.

Brewster's dangerous inswinging cross almost found its way past Meret in the closing stages and Wilson struck a fierce drive that the Napoli keeper did brilliantly to parry around the post as he preserved his clean sheet on a satisfying afternoon for the Serie A side.

Insigne's future has been the subject of speculation as he waits to sign a new deal with Napoli.

The 28-year-old – who emerged from the youth team of his boyhood club in 2010 – is contracted to Napoli until 2022.

Insigne has been linked to Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool previously, and when asked if he could move abroad the Italy international added: "No. I'm still young, I'm happy in Naples and want to stay here for the rest of my career.

"Scoring that goal against Real Madrid gave me such strong sensations and I hope other young Neapolitan lads can feel the same way in future.

"It is the dream of all Neapolitan boys and I am very proud to be in this position."

James Rodriguez's potential move to Napoli is being held up by Real Madrid's unreasonable asking price, according to Partenopei president Aurelio De Laurentiis.

LaLiga giants Madrid reportedly want more than €40million for playmaker James, who has spent the past two seasons on loan at Bayern Munich.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti is eager to be reunited with the player he coached in Spain and Germany, but a stalemate in negotiations is said to have alerted Atletico Madrid.

Napoli are remaining calm, with De Laurentiis confident the Colombia international favours a switch to Stadio San Paolo.

"Carlo likes him very much and we're waiting for a more reasonable demand," De Laurentiis told Corriere dello Sport.

"The obstacle is Real Madrid, who are asking for too much in our opinion.

"But James wants to come to Napoli."

Mauro Icardi is one player who will not be joining Ancelotti's side, despite the striker being told he can leave Inter.

De Laurentiis acknowledged he enquired about the Argentina international, but found him to be set on joining Serie A champions Juventus, and the Napoli chief will not entertain a swap deal involving Lorenzo Insigne.

"[Icardi] will always want to go to Juventus," he said.

"Anyway, I prefer Insigne, because we need him, and then we have [Arkadiusz] Milik and [Dries] Mertens.

"We can't ignore Icardi's talent, he's a very strong player, but we've talked about him so much now that he looks older than 26."

Napoli have hit out at media reports claiming Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to the sales of Allan and Lorenzo Insigne, calling speculation "the first big hoax of the season".

Brazil midfielder Allan and Italy international Insigne are two of Napoli's most valuable assets and have been linked with moves – the former apparently particularly interesting Paris Saint-Germain.

A report by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport claimed Ancelotti had given Napoli chiefs the OK to the players' sales in order to raise the funds required to sign Kostas Manolas, James Rodriguez and Hirving Lozano.

But Napoli moved to shut down such speculation on Monday, insisting the players are not for sale.

A brief statement on Twitter read: "The Gazza [Gazzetta] writes that Ancelotti has said OK to the sales of Allan and Insigne.

"We can call that the first big hoax of the season. Napoli players are not for sale, and no offer worthy of them has come in. If offers arrive, they will be evaluated."

Allan featured 33 times in Serie A last term as Napoli finished as runners-up for a second successive season, while Insigne made 28 appearances, netting 10 goals.

David Beckham is keen to make a splash when Inter Miami FC enter MLS in 2020.

And he has reportedly identified former Inter captain Mauro Icardi as a player to lead the club's attack in the United States.

Icardi is out of favour in Milan and could be set for a switch to the sunny beaches of south Florida.

TOP STORY – BECKHAM EYES ICARDI

Inter outcast Mauro Icardi has received an offer from David Beckham's Inter Miami, according to Argentine news agency Telam.

Icardi was stripped of the Inter captaincy in 2018-19 and new head coach Antonio Conte is reportedly determined to sell the striker.

With Icardi's future in Milan uncertain amid apparent interest from Serie A champions Juventus, a move to Miami for the 2020 season could tempt the 26-year-old and his family.

ROUND-UP

- Inter's determination to part with Mauro Icardi is so they can reportedly free up funds to sign Romelu Lukaku from Manchester United. However, Corriere dello Sport claims the Italian club have rejected the possibility of a player exchange as the Red Devils look to include centre-back Milan Skriniar in a potential swap deal.

- The Sun reports Arsenal are ramping up their efforts to raise funds by selling maligned playmaker Mesut Ozil. The Gunners failed to qualify for the Champions League again and Unai Emery is looking to continue his rebuild.

- According to le10sport, Ligue 1 holders Paris Saint-Germain are interested in Ajax and Brazil star David Neres, who is on international duty at the Copa America. PSG have also reportedly made an enquiry for Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne, La Gazzetta dello Sport claims.

- The Daily Mail reports Tottenham are not looking to sign Sporting CP midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who is believed to be a target for Manchester United.

Lorenzo Insigne inspired Italy to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over battling Bosnia-Herzegovina in an absorbing Euro 2020 qualifier in Turin on Tuesday.

Napoli star Insigne volleyed in a brilliant equaliser soon after the interval and provided the pass for Marco Verratti's decisive 86th-minute strike as Roberto Mancini's men extended their winning run to five matches.

Edin Dzeko had given the impressive visitors a 32nd-minute lead – the first goal conceded by the Azzurri since October – and their performance merited at least a point.

It was not to be, though, as Robert Prosinecki's side lost ground on the top two in Group J, in which Italy have taken maximum points from their opening four matches.

Roberto Mancini wanted Italy to push for a fourth goal in Saturday's 3-0 Euro 2020 qualification win over Greece, but he still believes his side are "ahead of schedule".

Italy produced a dominant showing in Athens, where a 10-minute, three-goal burst in the first half wrapped up a third victory from as many Group J matches.

Nicolo Barella, Lorenzo Insigne and Leonardo Bonucci were all on target, while the Azzurri also maintained their perfect defensive record.

However, Mancini's assessment of the display was hardly glowing.

"I don't think it was our best performance," the head coach told Rai Sport. "The important thing is that we continued to improve, we did well from the first minute and put the match on the right track.

"The most important aspect now is: why didn't we score a fourth goal in the second half? We should've pushed harder, but at times we sat back and should've converted some of the other chances.

"We risked conceding, as Greece nearly hurt us on the counter a couple of times.

"I said we're ahead of schedule, but still have a lot of work to do. The Nations League didn't go that badly either, as we were in the running until the last game."

Insigne's goal, a neat finish after skipping past Andreas Samaris on the break, was his first for his country in more than a year, leaving the Napoli stalwart relieved.

"I needed a goal, as scoring with this jersey is special," he told Rai Sport, with Bosnia-Herzegovina up next.

"Above all, we needed the three points and now we have to recover our energy, as there is another battle on Tuesday.

"I think winning that game can be a big step forward towards the Euros, but it'll be intense, and they need points. If we play the way we did [against Greece], we'll achieve our objective.

"It's not just me, as many other players are all working together with the right intensity both in a match situation and in training. The coach is drilling that mentality into us.

"I am happy with the goal, but we're a good group here and if we are to go far, we need everyone."

Italy made it three wins from as many Group J matches with a 3-0 victory over Greece in their pursuit of a place at Euro 2020.

Roberto Mancini's side added to wins over Finland and Liechtenstein as Nicolo Barella, Lorenzo Insigne and Leonardo Bonucci all scored inside 10 first-half minutes in Athens.

It leaves Italy – who are yet to concede in qualifying – with a maximum return of nine points, while Greece remain on four.

Andrea Belotti was thwarted by Zeca's timely intervention as he sought to get on the end of a threatening throughball inside the opening five minutes.

The Torino striker then showed poor technique in lifting a shot from the edge of the box well over the crossbar at the end of a promising move.

But the breakthrough came in the 23rd minute when Greece were overrun at the back and Belotti's cutback was slammed home by Barella.

Greece charged forward in an attempt to get back into the match but were caught on the counter-attack as Insigne darted past Andreas Samaris and poked a deft finish beyond goalkeeper Vasilios Barkas.

The match as a contest was over before half-time, Bonucci's header from Emerson's delivery clipping the upright on its way in.

With the points practically assured, Italy produced a composed second-half showing in which retaining possession took precedence over creating opportunities.

And Greece could do little to instigate a turnaround, Georgios Masouras going close only to see an offside flag raised as the hosts' frustrations grew.

When substitute Manolis Siopis fired wildly over the bar from a decent position, it was clear that even a consolation goal was going to be beyond Angelos Anastasiadis' side.

What does it mean? Italy in cruise control

With a 100 per cent record from their opening three games, Italy are already five points ahead of third-placed Greece and look well set to qualify.

Mancini's men have not yet conceded a goal, which further underlines the strides they have made since failing to reach the 2018 World Cup.

Left flank woes for Greece

Greece struggled in general to contain Italy in the first 45 minutes, but it was down the visitors' left side that the threat came, be it from Insigne or Marco Verratti. The former scored, the latter was typically industrious.

Kourbelis bypassed in midfield

Dimitrios Kourbelis was perhaps more a symptom of Greece's first-half capitulation than a cause, but the way the game passed him by showed just how dominant Italy were.

After managing just 11 touches and seven passes, he was substituted at the break.

What's next?

Greece remain in Athens to welcome Armenia on Tuesday, while Mancini's men host Bosnia-Herzegovina in Turin on the same night.

Lorenzo Insigne warned Maurizio Sarri that joining Juventus would represent "a betrayal" of Napoli, where the Chelsea boss was in charge for three years.

Sarri's future is the subject of speculation amid reports he could take the head coach role at Juventus, vacated at the end of 2018-19 by Massimiliano Allegri.

But Insigne urged his former boss to remember that he guided Napoli to three consecutive top-three finishes in Serie A during his time at the helm and in doing so etched his name into the club's history.